Alpet 2022
King James Version
1. Now it came to pass when Samuel was old that he made his sons judges over Israel. 2. The name of his firstborn was Joel, and the name of his second, Abijah; they were judges in Beersheba. 3. But his sons did not walk in his ways; they turned aside after dishonest gain, took bribes, and perverted justice. 4. Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah, 5. and said to him, "Look, you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now make us a king to judge us like all the nations." 6. But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, "Give us a king to judge us." So Samuel prayed to the LORD. 7. And the LORD said to Samuel, "Heed the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them. 8. "According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt, even to this day––with which they have forsaken Me and served other gods––so they are doing to you also. 9. "Now therefore, heed their voice. However, you shall solemnly forewarn them, and show them the behavior of the king who will reign over them." 10. So Samuel told all the words of the LORD to the people who asked him for a king. 11. And he said, "This will be the behavior of the king who will reign over you: He will take your sons and appoint them for his own chariots and to be his horsemen, and some will run before his chariots. 12. "He will appoint captains over his thousands and captains over his fifties, will set some to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and some to make his weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. 13. "He will take your daughters to be perfumers, cooks, and bakers. 14. "And he will take the best of your fields, your vineyards, and your olive groves, and give them to his servants. 15. "He will take a tenth of your grain and your vintage, and give it to his officers and servants. 16. "And he will take your male servants, your female servants, your finest young men, and your donkeys, and put them to his work. 17. "He will take a tenth of your sheep. And you will be his servants. 18. "And you will cry out in that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, and the LORD will not hear you in that day." 19. Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, "No, but we will have a king over us, 20. that we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles." 21. And Samuel heard all the words of the people, and he repeated them in the hearing of the LORD. 22. So the LORD said to Samuel, "Heed their voice, and make them a king." And Samuel said to the men of Israel, "Every man go to his city."
1. "O you children of Benjamin, Gather yourselves to flee from the midst of Jerusalem! Blow the trumpet in Tekoa, And set up a signal–fire in Beth Haccerem; For disaster appears out of the north, And great destruction. 2. I have likened the daughter of Zion To a lovely and delicate woman. 3. The shepherds with their flocks shall come to her. They shall pitch their tents against her all around. Each one shall pasture in his own place." 4. "Prepare war against her; Arise, and let us go up at noon. Woe to us, for the day goes away, For the shadows of the evening are lengthening. 5. Arise, and let us go by night, And let us destroy her palaces." 6. For thus has the LORD of hosts said: "Cut down trees, And build a mound against Jerusalem. This is the city to be punished. She is full of oppression in her midst. 7. As a fountain wells up with water, So she wells up with her wickedness. Violence and plundering are heard in her. Before Me continually are grief and wounds. 8. Be instructed, O Jerusalem, Lest My soul depart from you; Lest I make you desolate, A land not inhabited." 9. Thus says the LORD of hosts: "They shall thoroughly glean as a vine the remnant of Israel; As a grape–gatherer, put your hand back into the branches." 10. To whom shall I speak and give warning, That they may hear? Indeed their ear is uncircumcised, And they cannot give heed. Behold, the word of the LORD is a reproach to them; They have no delight in it. 11. Therefore I am full of the fury of the LORD. I am weary of holding it in. "I will pour it out on the children outside, And on the assembly of young men together; For even the husband shall be taken with the wife, The aged with him who is full of days. 12. And their houses shall be turned over to others, Fields and wives together; For I will stretch out My hand Against the inhabitants of the land," says the LORD. 13. "Because from the least of them even to the greatest of them, Everyone is given to covetousness; And from the prophet even to the priest, Everyone deals falsely. 14. They have also healed the hurt of My people slightly, Saying, ‘Peace, peace!’ When there is no peace. 15. Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? No! They were not at all ashamed; Nor did they know how to blush. Therefore they shall fall among those who fall; At the time I punish them, They shall be cast down," says the LORD. 16. Thus says the LORD: "Stand in the ways and see, And ask for the old paths, where the good way is , And walk in it; Then you will find rest for your souls. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it .’ 17. Also, I set watchmen over you, saying , ‘Listen to the sound of the trumpet!’ But they said, ‘We will not listen.’ 18. Therefore hear, you nations, And know, O congregation, what is among them. 19. Hear, O earth! Behold, I will certainly bring calamity on this people––The fruit of their thoughts, Because they have not heeded My words, Nor My law, but rejected it. 20. For what purpose to Me Comes frankincense from Sheba, And sweet cane from a far country? Your burnt offerings are not acceptable, Nor your sacrifices sweet to Me." 21. Therefore thus says the LORD: "Behold, I will lay stumbling blocks before this people, And the fathers and the sons together shall fall on them. The neighbor and his friend shall perish." 22. Thus says the LORD: "Behold, a people comes from the north country, And a great nation will be raised from the farthest parts of the earth. 23. They will lay hold on bow and spear; They are cruel and have no mercy; Their voice roars like the sea; And they ride on horses, As men of war set in array against you, O daughter of Zion." 24. We have heard the report of it; Our hands grow feeble. Anguish has taken hold of us, Pain as of a woman in labor. 25. Do not go out into the field, Nor walk by the way. Because of the sword of the enemy, Fear is on every side. 26. O daughter of my people, Dress in sackcloth And roll about in ashes! Make mourning as for an only son, most bitter lamentation; For the plunderer will suddenly come upon us. 27. "I have set you as an assayer and a fortress among My people, That you may know and test their way. 28. They are all stubborn rebels, walking as slanderers. They are bronze and iron, They are all corrupters; 29. The bellows blow fiercely, The lead is consumed by the fire; The smelter refines in vain, For the wicked are not drawn off. 30. People will call them rejected silver, Because the LORD has rejected them."
1. Inasmuch as many have taken in hand to set in order a narrative of those things which have been fulfilled among us, 2. just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word delivered them to us, 3. it seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write to you an orderly account, most excellent Theophilus, 4. that you may know the certainty of those things in which you were instructed. 5. There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the division of Abijah. His wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. 6. And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. 7. But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both well advanced in years. 8. So it was, that while he was serving as priest before God in the order of his division, 9. according to the custom of the priesthood, his lot fell to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord. 10. And the whole multitude of the people was praying outside at the hour of incense. 11. Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing on the right side of the altar of incense. 12. And when Zacharias saw him , he was troubled, and fear fell upon him. 13. But the angel said to him, "Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard; and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. 14. "And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth. 15. "For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. 16. "And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. 17. "He will also go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, ‘to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,’ and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord." 18. And Zacharias said to the angel, "How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is well advanced in years." 19. And the angel answered and said to him, "I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and was sent to speak to you and bring you these glad tidings. 20. "But behold, you will be mute and not able to speak until the day these things take place, because you did not believe my words which will be fulfilled in their own time." 21. And the people waited for Zacharias, and marveled that he lingered so long in the temple. 22. But when he came out, he could not speak to them; and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple, for he beckoned to them and remained speechless. 23. And so it was, as soon as the days of his service were completed, that he departed to his own house. 24. Now after those days his wife Elizabeth conceived; and she hid herself five months, saying, 25. "Thus the Lord has dealt with me, in the days when He looked on me , to take away my reproach among people."